SHARK DISSECTION INSTRUCTIONS Part 1: External Anatomy The shark has a graceful and streamlined body shape built for fast, long distance swimming. The body is divided into the head, trunk, and tail. STEP 1: Touch the shark! All members of the lab group should touch the shark. Pick it up, squeeze it, feel it! STEP 2: Measure the shark! Use your ruler to measure the length of the shark. Remember to measure in centimeters! The spiny dogfish has a double dorsal fin. The anterior dorsal fin is larger than the posterior dorsal fin. The spiny dogfish has the presence two dorsal spines, one immediately in front of each dorsal fin. The spines carry a poison secreted by glands at their base. The caudal fin is divided into two lobes: a larger dorsal lobe and a smaller ventral lobe. This type of tail is known as a heterocercal tail. STEP 3: Observe the exterior of the shark. Along the sides of the body is a light-colored horizontal stripe called the lateral line. The line is made up of a series of tiny pores that lead to receptors that are sensitive to the mechanical movement of water and sudden changes of pressure. A. Examine the anterior view of the shark. • The rostrum is the pointed snout at the anterior end. This tapered tip at the anterior end helps overcome water resistance in swimming. (See Figure 1 in An Illustrated Dissection Guide To The Shark, pg 2). • The eyes are prominent in sharks and are very similar to the eyes of man. A transparent cornea covers and protects the eye. A darkly pigmented iris can be seen below the cornea with the pupil at its center. Upper and lower eyelids protect the eye. Just inside the lower lid is a membrane that extends over the surface of the eye to cover the cornea. • Large spiracle openings are located posterior and dorsal to the eyes. A spiracular valve, permits the opening and closing of the external spiracular pore. The spiracle is an incurrent water passageway leading into the mouth for respiration. • Most sharks have five external gill slits located on thire sides behind the mouth and in front of the pectoral fins. Water taken in by the mouth and spiracles is passed over the internal gills and forced out by way of the gill slits. B. Examine the mouth of the shark. • The opening to the mouth of sharks is always on the underside. The teeth are sharp and pointed. There are several rows of flattened teeth lying behind the upright set ready to replace them when worn out or lost. 1 • The nostrils or external nares are located on the underside (ventral surface) of the rostrum anterior to the jaws. A nasal flap separates the incurrent from the excurrent opening. Water passes into and out of the olfactory sac, permitting the shark to detect the odors of the water. • The patches of pores on the head in the areas of the eyes, snout, and nostrils are the openings of the ampullae of Lorenzini. These sense organs are sensitive to changes in temperature, water pressure, electrical fields, and salinity. C. Examine the ventral view of the shark. • The paired pectoral fins act like an airplane's wings to provide the lift needed to keep the shark from sinking. • The paired pelvic fins are located on either side of the cloacal aperture. They are different in males and females. D. Examine the external reproductive anatomy. • Males have stout, grooved copulatory organs called claspers on the inner side of their pelvic fins. Fertilization in the dogfish shark is internal. During copulation, one of the claspers is inserted into the oviduct orifice of the female. The sperm proceed from the cloaca of the male along the groove on the dorsal surface of the clasper into the female. • The cloacal opening located on the ventral surface between the pelvic fins. It receives the products of the intestine, the urinary and the genital ducts. The name cloaca, meaning sewer, seems quite appropriate. Part 2: The Skeletal System • Unlike the other ‘higher vertebrates’ (fish, reptiles, birds, etc.) the shark does not have a bony skeleton but instead has a skeleton composed of cartilage. • Figure 2 shows a lateral view of the entire shark skeleton. Familiarize yourself with and label the parts outlined within this figure. (See Figure 2 in An Illustrated Dissection Guide To The Shark, pg 3). 2 Part 3: Muscular Anatomy A. On the thickest part of the tail out away one piece of skin. The opening should be no larger than two square inches in size. **Remember, you are cutting through the skin only.** Working with a dull probe or the handles of your scissors carefully peel off the skin exposing the underlying muscles. B. Examine the placoid scales on a piece of the skin. Use a magnifying glass or a microscope to study the scales. C. The muscles revealed by skinning the side of the shark are arranged in W-shaped bundles called myomeres. The myomeres are separated from one another by connective tissue. Contractions of the myomeres produce the side to side motion of the body that propels the shark foward. a. Flip your shark over onto its back. Make a mid-ventral incision from the cloaca cranially to just below the jaw. Make your incisions shallow. b. Cut around the head, around each fin, around the spircles, and around the cloaca. c. From the cloaca cut dorsally around the shark – this will make a circle around the tail. Remember you are cutting through the skin only. d. Using the handles of your scissors or your gloved fingers carefully peel off the skin to expose the muscles. D. Compare your specimen with Figure 3 and Figure 4. Try to identify as many of the structures listed as possible. (See Figure 3 and 4 in An Illustrated Dissection Guide To The Shark, pgs 5 & 6). Part 4: Digestive Anatomy A. Place your shark ventral side up on the dissection tray. • Using scissor make a mid-ventral incision just anterior to the cloacal opening. Cut in an anterior direction slightly to the right of the mid-ventral line. Cut all the way to the pectoral girdle. The inside of the large cavity will be exposed. Fold back the sides of the body wall. (See Figure 5 in An Illustrated Dissection Guide To The Shark, pg 7). • A smooth, shiny membrane called peritoneum can be seen lining the inside of the body wall. The visceral organs are suspended dorsally by a double membrane of peritoneum know as mesentery. • The liver is the largest organ Iying within the body cavity. Its two main lobes, the right and left lobes, extend from the pectoral girdle posteriorly most of the length of the cavity. A third lobe much shorter lobe is located medially and contains the green gall bladder along its right edge. (See Figure 6 in An Illustrated Dissection Guide To The Shark, pg 8). 3 • The liver is rich in oil which stores energy for the shark. The oil's low specific gravity is also responsible for giving the shark a limited amount of buoyancy. B. Move the large liver to the shark’s right side. • The esophagus is the thick muscular tube extending from the top of the cavity connecting the oral cavity and pharynx with the stomach. • The esophagus leads into the "J"-shaped stomach. The upper portion, the cardiac region, continues as the main body, and ends at the duodenal end. C. Cut the shark’s stomach open along its long axis. • The stomach will probably contain partially digested remains of fish. • Remove the remains and wash them down the sink. • The mucosa is the inner lining of the stomach. The rugae are longitudinal folds that help in the churning and mixing the food with digestive juices. A circular muscular valve, the pyloric sphincter, is located at the far end or pyloric end of the stomach. It regulates the passage of partially digested food into the intestines. D. Move the liver forward. • The duodenum is a short "U"-shaped portion of the small intestine that connects the stomach to the intestine. The bile duct from the gall bladder enters the duodenum. • The pancreas is located on the duodenum and the lower stomach. The secretions of the pancreas enter the duodenum by way of the pancreatic duct. • The dark, triangular-shaped spleen is located near the posterior end of the stomach. Although a part the Iymphatic system, the spleen is closely associated with the digestive organs in all vertebrates. • The valvular intestine (ileum) is the second, and much larger, portion of the small intestine. It follows the duodenum and its outer surface is marked by rings. E. Cut away the outer tissue and slit open the valvular intestine. • The spiral valve is the screw-like, symmetrical shape within the valvular intestine. It adds surface area for digestion and absorption to an otherwise relatively short intestine. F. Gently move the intestine forward and move the valvular intestine aside to expose the cloaca. • The colon is the narrowed continuation of the valvular intestine. It is located at the posterior end of the body cavity. • The rectal gland is a slender, blind-ended, finger-like structure that leads into the colon by means of a duct. It has been shown to excrete salt (NaCI) in concentrations higher than that of the shark's body fluids or sea water. It is thus an organ of osmoregulation, regulating the shark's salt balance. The rectum is the short end portion of the digestive tract between the intestine and the cloaca.